Sleep abnormalities are common in all phases of bipolar disorder (BD) and constitute core symptoms of both depression and mania also during remitted phases and despite treatment.
Melatonin is a key circadian hormone, that expresses a robust circadian rhythm and acts as an important endogenous modulator of the circadian timing system of sleep and may thus improve sleep and stabilize BD per se. Nevertheless, sleep in general and melatonin specifically is critically understudied in BD reflecting a central key knowledge gap within psychiatry. The investigators want in a 6-month randomized placebo-controlled trial (RCT) to compare effects of add on melatonin versus add on placebo on mood stabilisation and other critical patient outcomes in patients with BD.
